Some people get pretty worked up around Christmas, and many people greatly enjoy decorating their houses, but sometimes people take it more than a little too far.
Reddit user hotshots724 unfortunately seems to have one of those as a neighbor.
They shared a letter that they received a truly audacious letter from one of their neighbors calling them out for not putting up Christmas lights.
The letter began incredibly passive aggressively:
"Congratulations!!"
"You have won the Humbug award!!!! Because you chosen [sic] to be a Grinch, and not put up Christmas lights you have disappointed all the children, young, and old in your community!"
They recommended a way to remedy what they saw as a horrible scourge against their neighborhood:
"LED lights are inexpensive to run and can be purchased even in second hand stores for reasonable prices! They can last years!"
They then somehow got even more judgy:
"I'm sure cost is not an issue and it is more about being too busy with your devices than anything else!"
The guilt trip wasn't done yet either:
"Do you remember when you were a child and you saw all the Christmas lights on your street? What happened?"
"Next year do better and bring a smile to those in need.....but remember you still have time! It only takes a little effort to make a big difference!"
Their choice of phrasing for the next bit was more than a little questionable:
"Love strong and love long!"
You may have assumed that this person simply forgot that not everyone celebrates Christmas, but no—they're an equal opportunity guilt tripper.
"Putting up lights for other faiths counts too! Why not show your pride with colour!
In an apparent attempt to cushion the sheer audacity of the rest of the letter, they ended:
"Happy Holidays!!"
You can see the full letter in all its glory, complete with weird clipart alien at the bottom, below:
hotshots724/Reddit
Redditors were quick to provide some pretty creative revenge ideas, and heaps of criticism:
"I would blow this up into a yard sign and make that my decoration." — BrightDust2
"This. I have an old video projector that could make this readable from quite a distance." — wbrd
"I would hang just one Christmas light. That oughta piss 'em off more. People suck." — Low_Bus_5395
"Not saying who you are in a passive aggressive letter is the act of a coward." — ihatefirealarmtests
"If someone wanted to manipulate me into never putting up decorations this would do it." — Zakal74
"Is there anyone who would receive such a letter and be incentivised to put up lights? I can see myself writing 'merry f*cking Christmas' on the lawn in petrol, but that's about it" — Sharo_77
"I'd put up loads of strings of penis lights, dildos hung from the bow of the trees. Deck the halls...." — Inside_Procedure290
People on Twitter chimed in with some excellent suggestions, and a whole lot of judgement of the sender, when the image was shared there too.
\u201c@FLKDayton My mom passed away the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 2010. I barely felt like putting up a tree, I definitely didn\u2019t put up lights. If I\u2019d gotten a letter like that, I would have had a breakdown. So it\u2019s not even about religion. You just don\u2019t know what people are going through.\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
\u201c@Runtt1 @FLKDayton This guy. ALL YEAR ROUND\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
\u201c@FLKDayton What those in need need the most are lights on your porch!\n\nStop donating to your local shelter & soup kitchen and start putting up those lights!\n\n/s\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
\u201c@FLKDayton Just wait until Passover when I whip out my blow up 10 plagues for the yard. Where\u2019s your holiday spirit then, neighbor? Huh?!\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
\u201c@FLKDayton if one of your neighbors is pulling stunts like this, the rest of you should take your lights *down* in solidarity\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
\u201c@FLKDayton Me 3 seconds later\u201d— Far Left Kyle (@Far Left Kyle) 1670842283
It's definitely okay to get excited about the holidays and enjoy decorating your own property.
Just don't be like this person.
Not everyone celebrates the same holidays, or celebrates at all, and this kind of passive aggressive letter is not going to win over your neighbors.